


The Ones Left Behind

by NoR_ply



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, Character Death, Dark Thoughts, Depression, F/F, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Insanity, M/M, Multi, Other, Psychological Trauma, Some bad language, Void and antivoid setting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:14:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24792928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoR_ply/pseuds/NoR_ply
Summary: The Omega Timeline...Everyone's had a lot of time to think - too much time actually - and some have even thought themselves into oblivion staring at the ceaseless light surrounding them.Papyrus must find a way to escape before he meets the same fate as so many before him.***PROGRESS HALTED***
Relationships: Alphys & Asgore Dreemurr, Papyrus/Papyrus (Undertale), Papyrus/Undyne (Undertale), Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter One: Part One - Omniverse Theories

** The Ones Left Behind **

Chapter One  
Part One: Omniverse Theories

_POV: - Peppy -_

Theories. Everyone has a theory.

Some theories become more popular than others and with enough belief in that theory it soon starts to become so possible that it’s more believed in than the original facts.

Hood was a big theorist. Papyrus had heard many ideas passed around the group during Talk time but none more compelling than the ones Hood brought to the discussion. He had been here the longest, which gave him a kind of pseudo-elder status, despite his physical age being eternally stuck in that of a seventeen-year old.

Hood didn’t act like a kid at all. That was probably due to the multitude of genocide routes he’d endured in his universe before it finally got erased by the one called Error. Error had destroyed his world too… and took his brother before leaving him behind to die.

…But Papyrus did not want to think about that right now. It kicked off a spiral of miserable thoughts he could do nothing to comfort. It was hard enough to be around so many clones of his little brother than to start worrying about him again. He did not like to think for a second of the many possibilities that could have occurred to him in the hands of that mad glitch.

Papyrus and Hood were seated away from the main group this time… day… whatever it was. Hood’s recent melancholy had been concerning him more so than usual; the kid hadn’t lowered his orange hood for…well, a long while. So he decided to talk to him alone, concern for his well-being as strong as it would be for his own brother of his own timeline.

Apparently there was something in particular on Hood’s mind as he spared the niceties of conversation to get straight to the point; a direct connection to his inner monologue:

“There are more Swap Papyrus in here than there are of me...” He began, not really directing any of his words to his company at first. His focus seemed to be far away into the endless distance of the void. “It’s because you’re the Sans of our universe… I’m not meant to last. I’m just a Papyrus in a short body. Someone, somewhere, sometime, had a “what if?” moment and…we came into existence.”

Ah. So it was to be talk of the Creators then.

Hood continued: “That _something_ that has that sort of power… They’re still here…watching everything as though we were just characters in a tv show. The power that Chara – and Frisk – have… is _nothing_ compared to the power of those beings…”

Papyrus listened in respective silence.

“Chara and Frisk are pawns in all of this as much as we are. They cannot alter their fate beyond those two key choices; kill or don’t kill. The Demon is always going to have its run, eventually, no matter how strong the Angel is. It’s written in the _code_ to succumb to evil’s will. It’s just a matter of time… though time doesn’t really exist as we think of it. Outside of a universe, there is no time - only space. You could say we’ve been here for a millennia…or two hours. Five minutes. It makes no difference to our situation…our bodies aren’t real anyway. Neither are our souls.

Nothing is.”

This sort of conversation was making Papyrus feel deeply uncomfortable, as Hood’s subject matters always made him feel. Despite his own feelings however he couldn’t tell him to be quiet or go away… you just couldn’t do that to someone when words were all they had left to share. The truth was Hood had met many alternate versions of themselves from many different worlds; some similar and some vastly different ones. Whatever Hood thought about the nature of the void and everything else, it was generally worth taking heed of.

He was sounding more cheerful however, reaching out to an implausible concept as he spoke on:

“The First Universe though… when you see what it was _meant_ to be… when you look upon its _code_ … you can see substance there that you never thought possible… a, _realness_ we just don’t have in our backwards universe. As unique as it is compared to a lot of the alternates, we are nothing more than a whim of the powers. Though there are far less variations of a Swap universe than there are others…we are the weakest. If a few of our timelines disappear there isn’t much left of us in its stead. We’re a... an endangered species… and we’re dying out quicker than we can re-recover…”

Papyrus gave him an apologetic look, signaling that he understood. He had nothing to add to the conversation except a steady assurance that he was still listening. Hood turned his covered head to him and seemed to scrutinize him a while. Papyrus felt forced to say something:

“…No matter what that Error guy says… we were _intended_. Somebody _wanted_ us.”

Hood gave a cold chuckle and started speaking beyond him again. That was how conversations went with the really _old_ souls, Papyrus had come to realize. It wasn’t a habit out of being rude he supposed… rather that… when you’ve spoken to so many ghosts with the same faces as before… could anyone be able expected to hold eye contact for long? Not that Hood looked out from beneath his shadow often, papyrus wasn’t even sure if he’d ever seen his eyes, even when uncovered he recalled they were usually….dark.

Hood went on: “Think of the multiverse as a pond – no, a pond is the void – the space – the _‘nothing_ ’. The _Omniverse_ is everything _outside_ the pond. The ‘multiverse’ is all the pebbles and bubbles and little bits of grit floating in the dark. Now imagine the pond before there was _anything_ but water in it. Totally new. Totally _clean_.

The First Universe was a rock, tossed into the pond by a Being... a big, glorious shining gemstone perhaps, whatever you want to imagine – but there has never been another one like it. Once it fell into the water it disappeared into the void… lost in the expanse.

But… from the point where it splashed into the water, it sent ripples outwards. _Those_ ripples are the alternate universes. They started small and then spread out wider and wider, not just on the surface where we can see it but underneath - _inside the darkness it spread_. Each ripple was unique from the other but very similar, almost impossible to tell them apart… except… a few stopped short and others still go on. Ripples crashed into each other creating new, tiny, little ripples… individual little universes filled with their own different but same worlds.” Hood sighed mystified, no doubt imagining the universes in his fingertips. “Is there an end to the void? Who but the supreme Beings know... they who started it all…”

“I think I’d like to see that First Universe one day.” Papyrus mused. “You do paint a pretty picture. I take it you’ve seen it?”

Hood beamed under his hood; his grin wide: “That First Universe… it’s still there, deep in the abyss. It’s hard to find it amongst all the detritus of the multiverse _but it’s the one rock still whole and enduring against the erosion of time_. And I’ve seen the jewel in the dark… our universe is just a ball of spit in its mouth. Mweh heh heh…” He should have chuckled at that slight attempt to make an amusing comparison, keeping to the underwater theme and all… but he didn’t. Hood’s laugh never had any joy in it.

Instead his gaze was once again fixed on the usual horizon - blank, humorless eyes - and his voice was low and bitter. Papyrus could just make out his sockets but making eye contact here, even accidental, was often received poorly, so he tried not to look at the nothingness and instead looked down at his knees.

“Well…” Hood said, much more quietly now, “…there is our meaning laid out before us and it is _pointless_. We are as much necessary to the flow of the water as we are to anything the omniverse can chuck a rock at.” He stood up quickly but steadily. His blue-gloved fists firmly clasped at his sides. Papyrus watched him, not knowing what to say or do but just to watch and be there for his friend… whose voice sounded even more faint than before: “But…it looked nice… it was very nice… while it lasted…” And before he finished speaking his whole body faded too; becoming viscous and then so incorporeal that Papyrus lost sight of his shape completely. He barely had chance to react before Sans was gone.


	2. Chapter One - Part Two - It's All Relative

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (An introduction to the Swaptale group... and the ships.)
> 
> This is Part 2 of Chapter One - the lighter half ^^;
> 
> (it's longer than part 1!)

Chapter One: 

Part Two: It’s All Relative

_POV:- Peppy-_

Papyrus stared at the space for a long while. He strained to remember who he had been talking to. Something… _someone_ hooded… in orange.

And small… like his brother.

Like his… _brother._

… _SANS_.

He looked down at his hands clenched in his lap and saw that they were blurred. Panic brought on a wave of frightened tears as he expected inevitability to take him too.

…but it didn’t. He was spared that ending right now, for some cruel inconceivable comedy of the gods.

When he finally spent all his tears and wiped his sockets clear his hands looked normal. He checked himself and found nothing changed; despite everything he was still _HIM_.

He sat for another long while looking at the nothing by his feet, thinking over everything Hood had told him.

There was nothing to remember him by; no scarf to covet… nor would it have honored his memory correctly as Hood had discarded his a long time before he came into the void, having donned his fallen Papyrus’ orange hoodie in a genocide timeline. Despite understanding that Hood had not been his Sans, Papyrus still mourned his passing. He longed for _something_ to keep from forgetting him.

…From forgetting the last remnant of a cursed timeline and a doomed universe that may as well have never existed.

…

Papyrus stood up. Clenched his bony fingers to the strings of his hood.

Considered… _things_.

…

He should face… reality.

His brother – his _real_ little brother wasn’t coming back.

Error had probably erased him the moment they went through that portal. All of his desperate hope had been wasting his mind. In this place a wasted mind rotted quickly.

_Sans was gone_.

…And Papyrus was not. This Papyrus… this…’Sans’ of a swapped universe was all that was left of a random chance of fate.

In the void space he was just… a beam of light. A colourful memory – a character in a game for the god’s amusement - the biggest joke of time and space.

Papyrus chuckled.

After a few moments when the quiet seeped in again, he laughed once more.

Then louder: banishing away the silence.

It sounded…so

…odd.

“Hey man, you feelin’ ok?” The voice of another Swap Papyrus interrupted his brief moment of… whatever it had been.

Best he not think about it.

The two of them regarded each other silently for a few moments before Papyrus tipped his head and replied;

“Tch, yeah, always man.”

The other Papyrus (the one they referred to as ‘Good Boy’) supplied a weary grin.

“Well, if you start feelin’ like it’s creepin’ in on ya again, just come over to the group, ‘kay?”

“Sure.” Good Boy turned and walked away. Papyrus looked back at the Swap group gathered as they usually were, around the ‘Pile’. They were refugees from long lost lands. There was one less member now to join them in the circle. Should he bother saying? They probably already knew… or wouldn’t know who he was talking about.

Had Hood spoken to them before? Were they all at the same place of understanding he was now; resolved in their own minds over the ineffable truth of it all?

Undyne looked very tired; her hair unkempt as usual but this time… even more loose from its high knot. Alphys’ shoulders looked like they were sagging under the weight of her shoulder plates… the two Sanses; ‘Little’ and ‘Red’ were cosied up to each other, as Swap Sanses usually ended up doing. Their sweet nature probably made it a more likely eventuality. He wondered momentarily about what a pile of them would look like...

His counterpart they called ‘Monday’ on account of his general moody countenance, sat and smoked… nothing.

Nothing at all.

How long had he not noticed that there was no smoke coming out of his cigarette? Here they all were, trapped in habit – following their code… he spat out his own useless cigarette onto the non-existent floor of the void, not really sure how long he’d carried it there. His action alerted the attention of everyone seated – seated on invisible, imaginary chairs. It actually looked ludicrous.

“I’ve decided to quit.” He said, in his usual dry humour, looking at them floating unsupported by logic. Everything about this placed was _wrong_. Was he only looking at it properly now?

_Ah…Hood… this is why isn’t it?_

Good Boy chuckled but Monday grumbled into his tightly pulled hood; choosing ignorance as always.

“What a pathetic bunch of idiots we are.” Alphys growled; her reptilian voice rumbling loud across the echoless space. She had hardly spoken in the group in so long, Papyrus had felt a shiver run up his spine at the strength of it; so used to the feeble murmurings of his and his brother’s much lighter voices, growing quieter daily. Alphys scratched at her nose and inhaled through her volumous nostrils. She stood up suddenly, reached for her axe that was in the center of the Pile and reclaimed it fiercely.

All eyes watched her warily; displays of power were so unusual here they were almost unknown anymore. As one, all the members of the Swap Circle followed her movements carefully, except for Monday. Undyne’s fingers gripped tighter on her coat, Papyrus noticed; seeing that she seemed more shocked than the others… but then again, she was Undyne after all. It was her natural state to be nervous.

“What’s the fucken point anymore?” Alphys growled again, weighing her axe in her silver claws. Nobody had anything to say.

Monday-Papyrus shifted to his feet and slinked away, head down, mumbling incoherently. He too had become more reclusive recently… and as expected, Good Boy followed him like a doting puppy. He should wonder about his own nature a little regarding Good Boy’s behavior but… right now, Alphys was acting… dangerous. He needed to pay her attention.

“Alphys…” Papyrus said gently, oh so cautiously. “We’re all feeling…tired of this.”

She wanted to listen to him; she was trying: her eyes closed tight, nostrils breathing deeply. She was more controlled with her fiery temper than he was used to seeing with Alphys. This one often meditated to keep calm, which was probably why she was the only Swap-Alphys currently in the void. How long she had been here was sometime close to when Undyne got here too, though they were from different timelines. They didn’t actually get along too well… unusually. Alphys was too serious, Undyne had said once, after appreciating one of his jokes when Alphys had not.

“What say we try to get out of here?” He said, a new casual tone rising in his voice, recalling that brief moment where they had genuinely laughed together. ‘This place is nothing but a prison – a purgatory for us big time _LOSERS_.” His fingers clenched into fists, his jaw locked tightly. Skeletons had the ability to speak without movement of their teeth sometimes, if their will was strong enough. So he spoke in such a way that made his voice sound like it came from a darker place from within his skull: _“I’M REAL TIRED OF THIS JOKE TOO.”_

Alphys’ amber irises focused on his glowing pupils – both resolved to their shared determination; determination to turn the tables back in their favour. Papyrus lifted his head, raised his shoulders – _stopped slouching_.

Alphys’ sharp teeth clinked together in an impressive grin and she chuckled: “Peppy… you have a backbone after all. Hah! Never knew you were so tall.” She swung her axe and slammed its blade upon the ‘floor’, hardly sending any sort of sound or vibration from the impact. It was totally unimpressive.

The two Sanses finally reacted by sitting up straight and paying full attention to the drama being played out in front of them. Papyrus looked at them, suddenly acutely aware – and concerned – for their stability in this void. If Hood-Sans had lost himself by reaching a state of ultra depression, or enlightenment, how long were these two going to persevere? How long would any of them?

He looked to the Papyruses already far away from the group; lost in their own comfort of each other as the usual melancholy crept in on them. Monday was still walking around with that stupid unlit cigarette in his mouth. What an idiot he was… _he_ could be. Good Boy hovering close. He was so named because he had come from a universe where he had quit smoking long before the Resets, also he was generally quite considerate and kind towards others. He apparently had been stuck in a long run of Genocide timelines because of some glitch, he later found out. When he finally got his Chara back they had little time to do one Pacifist run when their reality started falling apart. He had taken it all rather remarkably well, considering.

He was the last piece of his universe, just like them all.

And he was oddly attached to his grouchy doppelganger. Monday had been here longer than Alphys… that meant he had been here longer than them all, excepting Hood, who never disclosed his true ‘age’. That papyrus wasn’t interested in sharing his past anymore… he could understand how tiresome it would be after seeing so many friends fade away and new ones reappear to repeat the cycle. It was ironically just like being stuck in a genocide run. Monday was as miserable as he imagined he could ever get – he yearned to help him somehow…help _himself_. It was weird to see Good Boy – himself - so… _into himself_ …

The two Sanses craved each other like that too. Something about being close to your alternate self filled some broken piece of their hearts, Little had said, that first time Papyrus had tentatively broached the subject. They fully accepted their new reality and were never away from each other now. Their usual place was in each other’s arms; one practically cradling the other, depending on who was in need of the support at that time.

Both were survivors of Genocide again, though in Red’s slightly rougher world he had suffered more horrific and permanent injuries; a cracked jaw and eye socket from when the demon from his world nearly took off his head in the Judgement Hall. His Papyrus was also killed at the wrong time, placing him in the alternative position when everybody they knew and cared about had been dusted before his eyes. Some miracle, or ill fate, depending on your viewpoint, brought Error to that world at that moment, throwing off the demon’s focus. The blade missed, just slightly. Red had fallen but held on by 1HP. Error entered into a fight with the demon, snaring their soul for his collection and bringing a sudden halt to the timeline.

He pulled down the framework of Red’s world and erased most of the code before Ink turned up to stop him. Those two Out-code Sanses were often engaging in what some described as petty squabbles over universes. Error lost that battle that time and escaped through one of his portals into another world. Ink watched over Red until nearly everything had crumbled… then he stepped out for Core Frisk to take care of the wounded guardsman.

Just like she had done for him, when Error had taken Sans and left him alone in a world that started to fall apart, Core guided Red to the Omega timeline and here he still remained… however long ago that was.

Little became his first friend. He was a complete mess; he was wrought with so much grief at seeing his friends being dusted and then to have Error – once again – come in and destroy everything. Little was, literally, the smallest Sans he had ever seen. He suspected he had been from a universe where everyone had been VERY SHORT… or else he had been randomly born that way. How he had ever been let into guard training in the first place was surprising, but from the way he had once spoken about his world… well, it sounded like it was the sweetest place ever. Even the way he described the snow made it sound as if icing sugar covered all of Snowdin and Waterfall’s springs tasted like…well, candy.

Like Monday and Good Boy, Little and Red were quite opposite when you looked at them at first glance but… perhaps that was why they connected so… so… _completely_. The Sanses talked, hugged, _touched each other intimately_ … it was, so strange and slightly disturbing for him to see his brother behaving in such a way and yet… it had taken him a while but he finally thought he understood and could accept that their circumstances kind of made things like that… a really good thing here. Something he actually longed for himself.

The loneliness of the void wasn’t a thing to joke at.

They looked so happy when everyone else was losing their minds. Okay they actually looked a little delirious and spaced out most of the time so there was probably a certain level of insanity lurking under the surface but…

…love was love. In the void or anti-void, whatever the difference was, there wasn’t anything else to hold onto when you were falling. Red and Little caught each other and grumpy-ass-Monday-Papyrus had caught the Good Boy. Though, they never hugged or became intimate, they would walk close together, lean their heads to each other, sometimes resting skulls. The kinder version of himself was definitely the most needy of the two and more often than not denied or else silently ignored by the subject of his obsession. He felt painfully sorry for him.

Himself.

During his reverie, Alphys had managed to calm herself and begun a meditation. The two Sanses were gazing beyond each other’s eyes again with their hands entwined. Soon they would fall asleep as it was how they mostly existed in here. He blinked out of his unexpected drifting and looked at Undyne. He suddenly realized he knew _nothing_ about her. Not this version of her anyway, though she wasn’t very different from the Undyne he knew from his world; socially awkward; near genius mind; obsessed with anime found in the dump. What on earth did she have here to hold onto with _nothing_ to distract her mind? She hardly shared her story out of being too shy or being over-spoken. It was through her however that they met the other Alternates from other universes. Undyne was a scientist – THE scientist. In every universe there was an Undyne, except in most universes as in the First, _Undyne was the warrior and Alphys was the fumbling awkward scientist._

It had been the strangest and funniest thing meeting their Alternates and Undyne was overjoyed to discuss all sorts of physics and theories with her counterparts, who were mostly dinosaurs and not fish monsters. Alphys on the other hand just felt awkward. Her nerd counterpart embarrassed her and it actually made her angry that in 98% of the multiverse she was involved romantically with another female. That was when she revealed that in her universe she had been so close to Asgore that when he went into the Ruins she followed him and swore to be his guard… which developed to have _benefits_ …

Her world seemed to be quite alternative whilst still being a Swap universe but still, she did not divulge too much upon it unless she deemed it the right time to reveal anything. He had managed to wrangle out information on the Sans and Papyrus she knew. Apparently they were similar in their personalities and fashion to himself and how he described his brother… but her Papyrus was stationed in Waterfall where he bunked off a lot to smoke and star gaze and Sans was stationed in Snowdin, where she also trained him daily. He was actually a pretty good fighter and she had just promoted him into the Royal Guard. His dedication to the role was as strong as Papyrus’ dedication was to wasting his brain cells with his smoke.

It was her quiet little secret that she would go off ‘on patrol’ near the Ruins and Asgore would let her in through the ancient door. It had been her long plan to leave the Royal Guard once Sans was officially affirmed in by the queen, then… she was going to move into the Ruins and, well, guard there.

It had all been going according to plan… and then… Genocide happened. Asgore was dusted before she could get in and when she saw that kid come through that door she had attacked without Mercy. She couldn’t remember what happened after that but guessed some Resets must have wiped her memory. How she came to be alone in a world not only empty because of a genocide run, but also in a corrupted timeline that broke down due to no-one’s fault exactly… she only knew that Core Frisk had called to her to come into the Light and she had neither the strength nor the will to resist.

At first she believed Frisk to be some sort of Angel – a goddess even! - The way she appeared in the light like that and had these incredible abilities that brought her to the Omega timeline. Alphys still wouldn’t let anyone talk about her ‘Angel’ in a poor manner, even after learning the truth of Core Frisk’s tragic history and all that Hood had ever divulged to them about the things he’d learnt. Then again, Alphys had always been a hard head and preferred to keep to her own conclusions on things.

Undyne however, being a scientist by nature, often leapt at any new theory and would explore all aspects of a new idea until it ran dry with evidence. Her enthusiasm for learning about everything to do with, well, the existence of everything, had been a good distraction from the void. He listened to her talking animatedly to the other scientists with great interest and was glad to have his own intelligence to lean back on when attempting to engage her in further conversation later. Though he was no match for the quickness of her thought-patterns (scatterbrain some used to refer to it) it didn’t matter if some of her more complex theories went over his head. He’d work it out by himself eventually and return to her with another concept… which she had usually already pondered upon and dismissed by then.

He had not realised how long he had been looking towards her with a slight smile curved on the edge of his jaw. She had looked up at him too and was looking slightly pinker in her cheeks. Suddenly she looked away from his eyes and… Papyrus quite liked that.

Alphys was focused on some intense breathing techniques, her axe rested across her knees and in severe concentration. The two Sanses were dozing with half-lit sockets.

Papyrus moved to sit next to Undyne, who fidgeted nervously to make room (on the totally non-existent seat). What he said next was… completely stupid considering where they were:

“How are you?” He said.

Simply ridiculous.

“I am… just fine, Papyrus…” she mumbled. Well what was he expecting? They could hardly talk about the weather could they?

Suddenly Undyne burst into pitiful sobs which she struggled to contain in her hands. She was having a hard time containing her tears within them as Papyrus froze in customary silence when witnessing someone’s extreme emotional outburst. Extreme outbursts were so common here hardly anyone interfered with the reasoning behind it. He knew the reason for all of it; the void.

Her distress this time was too much for him to bear right now, with his mind constantly wandering to thoughts of Hood, the other Papyruses, his brother… his own inevitable death by insanity. He reached out for her hands and held them steady in his own, holding them tightly more for his own comfort than he realised. She flinched in sudden shock and surprise at his gesture of kindness and a whole new flood of tears poured out from her and she gratefully put her head down to their joined hands.

As she trembled and wept his soul felt… fluttery. He was entranced by the colour of her hair which he hadn’t really noticed was sleek and shiny despite being tousled up like that. He wanted to see it free from that tie and wondered how long it really was. Her emotions were stabilising, just as his were erupting. When she calmed down enough to lift her head up again she was met by a pair of intensely glowing amber eyes. They were tinged with fresh tears though, as Papyrus felt his soul straining to control his own extreme emotions: grief for his doomed soul and grief for his bittersweet realisation that he _needed_ her, more than anything he had ever needed in his life.

Now it was his turn to fall onto their hands as his whole body felt so weary of holding himself up. He… he just wanted someone else to carry his tired bones a while. He wanted _her_.

Undyne wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he placed his around her waist. It was an instant respite from that insufferable bright light that permeated his eyes even when his vision was ‘off’. His mind raced with all sorts of new thoughts and feelings, it was a blessed relief from all the worrying he had endured to just bury his face into a dark place (the location of which sent his soul aflame). If he had started crying again he no longer knew nor cared. He felt so warm in this soft place… he curled his arms around her more tightly which led her to do the same to him. Her hands smoothed along the curve of his spine to rest upon his lower back, igniting a deep heat to emanate from his ribs.

He pulled up and met her gaze, illuminating her citrine eyes in the aurora of his glow.

His soul hurt so much.

Her soul was wounded. He could feel that; so terribly scarred by her past mistakes and by a grief as deep as his own for their situation. Those memories she agonized over were from a past that never even happened. Probably. Even if they did there was no consequence to any of the decisions either of them made in those places that didn’t exist anymore. Why worry on such old nightmares?

He felt her soul… strengthening, as was his. It felt… wonderful. How long he stared into her then was of no concern; their bodies were moving towards an embrace that brought their souls closer together; only clothing separated them. He felt the heat in his ribs fighting to get out and his soul called to hers in desperation to connect. Undyne did not hesitate to resist; her soul came illuminating from her chest to meet his with a second wave of heat behind it; finally soothing the burning of his bones.

He let out a sigh with her as their minds cleared for the first time in…well… ever.

…eventually they came down from that euphoria as their souls settled back into their bodies and they were seated again, this time Undyne astride him, still holding their gaze upon each other.

_…You’re so beautiful…_

_…I love you… Papyrus..._

A sudden jarring roar of: “DISGUSTING!” burst through their moment followed by raucous laughter. Alphys was beside herself with laughing. Undyne and Papyrus blinked back into reality and quickly separated themselves with red hot embarrassment filling their faces. Alphys stopped laughing and beamed at them, shrugging her great shoulders.

“Ahhh don’t worry you kids! That was just beautiful but really, get a room next time ok? WAHAHA! Talk about no shame!”

“Wh…What did we do…?” Papyrus tried to whisper to Undyne.

“You did EEEEEEEEEEEVERYTHING!” Alphys cheered, “You lovebirds! You totally just started _soulbonding_ right in front of everyone!”

“They did?” Little’s voice piped up, suddenly awoken by Alphys’ loud voice. Papyrus’ face burned, so he tucked it into his collar and pulled his hood up, then put his face into his knees and let out a clearly audible groan of embarrassment. Undyne seemed flushed but elated with what had just happened. He was too, he suddenly wanted to assure her as he could…feel her soul still, like words without a voice he could _hear_ her. He didn’t want to feel her disappointed in his shame.

_…I’m not ashamed… of us…_ he sent to her, feeling that slight rush of euphoria again at this new ability.

_…I missed you so much…_ was what she sent back, quickly followed by her own rushing feelings of apology in confusing him and being too forward. This ability to directly link thoughts and emotions with each other was clearly something neither of them could really control so they flustered and stumbled their attempted real words as their minds were constantly interrupted by each other. In the end they stopped trying to talk and just blushed and grinned stupidly at each other whilst Little and Red gave them a sweetly approving smile.

Of course they had bonded before too. Though they were far more discreet about it and waited for everyone to be asleep, so Little had confided that time he asked them about _them_. He understood now why they acted the way they did; he couldn’t stop thinking about her and looking upon her and when she giggled at his feelings it made him feel all the more addicted to keep on.

_…So, we were together in your world?..._ He sent to her.

_…Yes. We were engaged…_ she sent back sadly.

 _…Am I… like him?..._ It was a strange question he needed to ask. Her reply was a little hesitant but they still could not halt whatever their souls wanted to exchange.

_…You are…_ she sent. Her answer was firm in its meaning and then he saw one of her memories of him; _her Papyrus_. Indeed they were alike in form and clothing. He was a little more nerdy and wore small blue-rimmed glasses.

 _…I used to wear my glasses…_ he thought absently. Her soul replied with a warm ‘hug’ and he soul-hugged back.

“Well, we’ve lost them now.” Alphys said with a tut. “No point talking to anyone when they’re in THAT state.” She directed her words to the usual suspects seated near to her.

Little and Red smiled at her, then at each other and nuzzled their teeth.

“Geez, maybe I should get a room…” Alphys muttered, rolling her eyes. She stood up and stretched, gripping her axe firmly in her hands.

“Time to move out ladies! I’m sick of this hell. HEY! GOOD BOY!” The Papyrus she called to was walking slowly back to the group – alone. He acknowledged her and walked a bit faster.

“Alphys…” He looked a bit glazed.

“Boy… where’s… where’s that guy?”

“…I don’t know. He was over there just… now.” Good-Boy-Papyrus looked back at the vast empty landscape. Alphys rummaged her inside lip with her tongue and made a low, unhappy sound.

“We have to get out of here… as soon as we can.”

“…How?” Good Boy asked flatly. He made no sign he desired to sit, so he just stood, slouched and eyes half-alert.

“By ambushing the next Outcode that comes through here and forcing them to portal us out.” She grinned, devilry shining in her reptilian eyes.

No-one reacted.

“…Yeah. Ok.” Good Boy eventually shrugged and sat down.

They all sat down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of my first major attempts at writing some fanfiction for YEARS and it's quite old now (I think I wrote it in the winter of 2018 going into 2019).
> 
> I'm still figuring out how A03 feels so tags and warnings will be updated whenever required, please forgive any mistakes I make in the mean time! ^.^;
> 
> I've posted it previously on DeviantArt (I am TheNor on there) and It always felt a bit HEAVY because it covers a lot of dark ideas like death, the afterlife, souls, death, depression and anxiety, more death... so I've broken Chapter one into two parts. Part two is a lot longer! It also breaks away from the introspective narrative and the other characters are brought in ^u^
> 
> Because it's been on my DA for a long time, both parts of chapter 1 will be posted together.
> 
> I don't have any promises of a regular schedule with this story but I really hope that feedback here will spur me on to continuing from where I left off.


	3. Chapter Two - Locate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moving on to the best glitchy bois ^u^
> 
> Not got much to say except that glitched minds are fun.

** Chapter Two - Locate **

**- ERROR**

He wasn’t usually remorseful about the choices he made. He had long ago allowed his impulses to take over, since logical thinking had abandoned him long before that. However, he had come across a very disturbing thing in the deluge of the broken and forgotten universes on the fringes of the void. It immediately sent his mind into panic and set off a series of glitches, each one buzzing in his mind like a fury of unreachable itches. He had brushed his fingers across the membranous edge of a pocket space in the void; a small piece of anti-void between the spaces of spaces. He found it surprisingly rich with code.

Code that belonged to a person he had forgotten all about; a Sans from an Swap universe; the one the voices called ‘Blueberry’.

Instant shame and regret flooded his unstable mind as code of all kinds of possibilities flew into his body, like ants they spread through his bones and attacked him mercilessly with deep, hate-fuelled rage. Pain and despair of his own fought with the wild codes that swirled and bit venomously at him, each bite passing every variation of emotion into him but mostly fear; fear and sadness.

His eyes bled with the burning blue tears, cutting like acid down his face. He rose up suddenly with his fists full of them and roared in rage to throw off Blue’s voice that screamed in his skull:

ERROR! …please come back… 

**_ERROR!_ ** **…don’t leave me here alone…**

**ERROR COME BACK!** _…It’s so bright…_

…it’s **_too_** bright… I’M SO SORRY-

ERROR **PLEASE!**

**HELP ME!** **…help …please** **_HELP!_ **

**HELP!**

**…help me…** **_ERROR!_**

…He slashed at the thin veil that separated the space and the screaming silenced instantly with the creation of a new cut to the antivoid; a portal to go beyond. He momentarily froze as he tried to assess **_at which point_** did he make the door? He had felt extreme realities bombard him just now with all their insane conclusions… trying to pinpoint one where that outcome had not yet occurred had been where he hoped to land his razor strings but… the voices were silent now. They gave no clue to the reality he just made come into existence… he did not know what state the Sans would be in inside but in choosing where he made his portal, he had made the little pocket a little more stable; the contents within secured in this one specific point of possibility.

It was the first stage of building a new universe.

This was now… _Where Blue Is_ … and the code that made it unique from all the other empty pockets of in-between space was already establishing into **_NOW_**.

Which was precisely when Error came back to Blue.

**- Blue**

The antivoid was endlessly hopeless.

Nothing but bright, clear, white, light… its radiance was neither seemingly coming from something or a reflection from a source. There was no ground, floor or ceiling. There was no sky. No up or down.

It still made his head dizzy on occasion, completely unpredictably he would feel his head rush and he would try to hold his body still as he felt like he was suddenly falling so fast, only to come out of it completely still and secure on the infinite plane.

Blue groaned as he experienced the familiar sensation send his body into another cycle of cold sickness, swirling stomach pain and crashing in his ears.

That was when the chattering started. It had happened during one of the ‘falling’ moments when he thought he could make out voices, even imagining words amidst the panic that usually took over.

He was used to enduring through them now. When the ‘world’ spun and his head turned upside-down his soul was the first part of his body that moved into high alert; pulsing faster and harder against his chest. The pain was unbearable to begin with and he needed to concentrate, with all he had, to steady his breathing in order to stop his soul crushing against his ribs. Then his bones would tremble and his teeth chattered. He found that holding the sides of his jaw helped alleviate the grinding that accompanied the buzzing of his head.

In a few seconds it had started and it was over. His soul drained and his throat releasing the stress in the form of a tiny whimper.

How long had he endured this relentless punishment?

His quivering voice fumbled over the plaintive question he seemed to have asked a thousand times, tumbling over his breath as he rocked with the steadying beat of his soul, his eyes still ‘shut’ to the awful expanse:

“Error…? ...Please… hear me…” He held his head back and swayed to the rhythm of his words. He recalled again the moment his captor had abandoned him to this hell: a promise that he would return only when he begged him and was truly sorry for trying to manipulate him…

…a promise he would not honour apparently…

…Blue had already begged more times than he could count. He had cried and apologised so loudly that he had laid down long after, sometimes silently listening to the vacuum of sound, sometimes mumbling as quietly as he could, just to see how long he could keep it up.

He had run out of all motivation to push his body through anymore training; be it physical or mental… he had even lost all interest in perfecting his singing, which he had clung onto the longest out of all his other ideas.

Currently he was fascinated with the soft little vibrations he made with the sounds from his mouth. Where did those sounds come from…? Was he feeling the vibrations of his soul bouncing around the inside of his skull… or did it come from breath…? Was he breathing… did he breathe…?

When he whispered… ever so… very softly…

…there was hardly any feeling to it at all…

…

…

…

…but he could hear it…

…still.

…he ‘opened’ his eyes just a little and saw white.

He stared far to the distance and saw…

…a circle of black.

…Not. White.

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my first major attempts at writing some fanfiction for YEARS and it's quite old now (I think I wrote it in the winter of 2018 going into 2019).
> 
> I've posted it previously on DeviantArt (I am TheNor on there) and It always felt a bit HEAVY because it covers a lot of dark ideas like death, the afterlife, souls, death, depression and anxiety, more death... so I've broken Chapter one into two parts. Part two is a lot longer! It also breaks away from the introspective narrative and the other characters are brought in ^u^
> 
> Because it's been on my DA for a long time, both parts of chapter 1 will be posted together.
> 
> ***Feedback here will spur me on to continuing from where I left off.***
> 
> There is art on my DA page of some of the characters mentioned in chapter 1 and it is linked to my ErrorxBlue story (as 'Peppy' is the nickname for Blue's brother who leads T.O.L.B). I have A LOT more art of Error and Blue on my DA and I am thinking that I shall write their story separately so eventually THIS work will be a series coupled with Peppy's brother Blue leading the narrative.
> 
> For now though, i hope you enjoyed what there is so far.
> 
> ******
> 
> ~NoR_ply  
> aka TheNor


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